Bitcoin might fail but the blockchain is here to stay

Bitcoin could end up being the MySpace of cryptocurrency, but the underlying technology powering new payment methods is here to stay. That's according to Brock Pierce, a tech entrepreneur with his eyes firmly fixed on cryptocurrencies. "By having a baseline protocol that allows you to innovate around finance, a lot of interesting things can happen," he says. The protocol Pierce is talking about is the blockchain -- a public, transparent ledger that gives a chain of transactions that is secure and reliable. "This protocol is going to democratise the global financial system," Pierce explains to the audience at WIRED Retail. In South America and Africa the blockchain, be it through Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, has huge transformative potential.

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Pierce also believes that the technology could have an impact on other processes. Voting systems that used the blockchain could ensure that elections were free of corruption and easier to run.

He compares the use of Bitcoin in the developing world to

Africa's "jump" to mobile communications. With little in the way of fixed line networks many countries went straight to mobile phones -- similar things could happen with Bitcoin. Pierce ought to know, he's the cofounder of Crypto Currency Partners (CCP) which has invested in 25 crypto projects so far this year.

One market already using the blockchain to bypass traditional banks is international money transfer. People who move abroad to find work and want to send money home are hampered by expensive international transfer speeds, but cryptocurrency removes this barrier. "This innovation is more substantial than the internet. The blockchain is going to have an even larger impact. As to what currency does it -- that's difficult to say." "I think that people are starting to recognise the value of the blockchain, whether that be large banks becoming incredibly friendly to the blockchain and the innovation it represents. The opportunities it creates are substantial enough that I don't see this trend coming to an end."